


Nightmares and Dreamscapes

by TheIronDragonLover (RannaFic)



Series: With Friends Like These [5]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-17 23:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5888593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RannaFic/pseuds/TheIronDragonLover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Iron Bull is having nightmares, which shouldn't be possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Iron Bull shot up out of sleep sweating. Fortunately his Kadan was a heavy sleeper, especially when Bull was around, so he didn't wake. Once his breathing slowed he got up and wandered out onto the balcony. He was in no hurry to get back to sleep just in case the dream started up again. He stood there feeling cold even though he knew that it wasn't the wind. The last few weeks he had been having nightmares that left him shivering with fear. He knew that he should consult Lavellan about them but the idea of seeming weak was unpalatable. He had initially pretended to himself that he was afraid that it would affect their dynamic but if he was honest that was nonsense. He spent most of the day calling the elf "Boss" after all. He just had too much pride to admit dreams had him so shaken up. Just the concept of having dreams was weird enough but he had discussed the idea in passing with a few of his Chargers and they dealt with these memories of things that didn't, couldn't, happen without issue so surely he could do the same. Part of it was just the fact that these dreams dealt with his greatest fear but the other thing was the feeling he had when he woke up. He felt the same way he had when they had been dragged into the Fade.

Bull shivered thinking about the experience in the Fade but then smiled a little at his memory of the aftermath of that adventure and immediately felt a bit better. Lavellan's face when he had said "Just hit me with the stick" was still a source of amusement. Fortunately his remedy for defeating his fear after the Face had worked. Unfortunately it looked like the same trick would not work this time. The fact that these dreams had not gone away on their own even after all these weeks and a couple impromptu 'sparring' sessions with his Chargers had left him with the uncomfortable knowledge that he had to consult with someone and if he was leaving the Inquisitor out of the picture that left Cole or Dorian. Cole might be a 'good' demon or spirit or whatever but he was hard to understand at the best of times and anything but discrete which left only Dorian since Solas was long gone. Iron Bull sighed this was really going to suck.

Dorian was thrilled that finally Iron Bull was showing real signs of friendship again but tried to keep things as low key and calm as possible "So waking up from all of these dreams felt like stepping out of the fade?" Iron Bull nodded. Dorian wished, not for the first time, that Solas was still around. "Well for humans and elves being in the fade when dreaming is a normal thing. You did know that?"  
Iron Bull looked amused "Well that explains why you guys are nuts. Damn that means Varric really is the most sane one of the lot of you. Dwarves don't dream either right?"  
Dorian nodded with a laugh "Well let's not tell Varric your conclusion, he'll be insufferable but I must admit that I have not encountered Qunari dreaming just heard rumors of such things. I don't even know for sure whether your dreaming would involve the Fade at all. However we can easily establish definitively whether your mind is going into the Fade. I will visit the Fade just before you fall asleep and see if I can find you there."  


Iron Bull was clearly relieved "Thanks Dorian. When they first started they were strange but not unpleasant. Mostly memories of different lovers actually. However I had never experienced such a thing before and at first I thought I was going mad having all these images in my head of things that seemed to have just happened but with people who were not around. When I discussed it with Krem he indicated that dreams behaved in the way I was experiencing. In any case they eventually seemed to settle on Lavellan. However these latest ones they're a lot of demons and worse .." he trailed off. "It feels good to finally be doing something about them"  
Dorian didn't want to tell him that this was the easiest part. If they found out his mind was in the fade then they would have to find out why. If it had happened back after Bull first crossed into the Fade with Lavellan then it would make more sense. For it to happen now all this time later, Dorian was not sure what was going on and he didn't like the answers since they all led back to demons. The idea of a demon possessed Iron Bull was terrifying.  
Iron Bull smiled abruptly "I thought you'd give me a hard time with this since I have not been the friendliest person after what happened with Lavellan. Thanks for not making it a big deal."  
Dorian was honestly hurt "Bull. You are the one with the right to be upset about that not I. I meant it when I said I was your friend." Then he grinned at Bull "Only you better make sure I don't get caught when we do this. Lavellan did not seem thrilled with the revelation that I was attracted to you" Bull burst into laughter and Dorian felt as though finally all the awkwardness could be put behind them.

The logistics of making sure that Dorian could check for Bull's mind being pulled into the fade without being in the room turned out to be impossible. In the end Bull had him wait in the upstairs area in the Inquisitor's room under an invisibility spell. Bull promised to keep Lavellan too distracted to notice anything and he certainly kept his promise though Dorian was not sure he'd be able to look at Lavellan anytime soon without blushing. Certainly he was envious. Finally Bull and Lavellan both were asleep and Dorian cast his mind into the Fade to watch. He almost missed it, because it was so fast. One second there was nothing, the next Bull was pulled into the fade. It was like nothing he had seen before and he had been completely unable to see what was doing it. There was a misty figure and then suddenly Bull was standing there in the Fade. Dorian stepped towards Bull but before he could reach him there was a swirl of fog, a flash and Bull was gone. Dorian knew he could find his friend though, after all he was not a mage for nothing.

Dorian reached out with his magic searching for any sign of Bull. There was no real space or time in the Fade but Dorian found him 'close by'. He was fighting off demons surrounding a young girl. By the time Dorian got there Bull had killed two and was working on the third. Dorian paused, uncertain whether to show himself or not. Bull was armed only with a small dagger and covered with cuts and bruises. The injuries were minor and while Bull seemed to be fighting hard these did not seem to have the strength of the real demons they had fought. Dorian took a deeper look at them and it became clear that even though they were in the Fade these were not real demons but shadows, fade constructs not dangerous in any real way. If this was just an ordinary nightmare then it might do more harm than good to intervene. Suddenly the decision was taken out of his hands. Bull killed the last demon and the 'mist' rose up around him again and he was gone. That decided Dorian, whatever this was it was not natural.

Dorian set out looking for Bull again but this time it took quite a while before he was able to locate him and 'travel' there. He arrived expecting another battle scene but to his astonishment it was a picnic. Lavellan and Bull were sitting together smiling and holding hands and Lavellan was laughing at something Bull had said. Bull leaned in for a kiss and everything just twisted sideways and abruptly Bull and Dorian were in an empty room. Apparently whatever was controlling the Fade here had done something with the whole scene because Dorian had not needed to search out Bull. Bull was sitting on a pallet in the room staring at the door clearly horrified murmuring "No" under his breath when the door banged back and a giant Qunari came in.  
The Qunari sneered "Heard you in your sleep. Were you dreaming about your little Kadan again? I guess The Iron Bull is going crazy. As if any of that could ever be real."  
Dorian wasn't going to stand by in this scenario. As he manifested in the room Dorian made his voice ring out "I do believe you're mistaken since if it was just a dream what am I doing here?" The Qunari appeared to pause in shock but Bull leapt to his feet the look of despair on his face dissolving into triumph.  
"Dorian! Then it is real and this is the Fade." With that pronouncement the whole scene vanished as if a bubble had been popped and they were standing in one of the unformed areas of the Fade.  
Dorian smiled at Iron Bull. "Let's get you home." 

Bull woke abruptly smiling. He wasn't sure how much Dorian would be able to tell him about what was going on but at least now he knew that the worst nightmare was false. He sat up and saw Dorian coming out of the archway from the ladder upstairs.  
"Dorian! Thank you that was wonderful." Dorian smiled and then almost passed out with fright when Lavellan sat up and wanted to know "Just what exactly is so wonderful" After a quick explanation Dorian was able to breath again. He even felt sorry for Bull since he was quite sure that Lavellan's promise to follow up in detail just why exactly Bull had kept him in the dark on all this was very sincere. However they all agreed that the first priority was figuring out just what exactly was happening to cause Bull to be drawn into the fade. With some prodding Bull had provided the information that his most recent dreams had all consisted of fighting some number of demons, always with no real weapon, a pleasant interlude of one kind or another with Lavallen and then some variation on the theme of how he was going mad, his biggest fear. The order of the events was not always the same but the general pattern was similar. Dorian and Lavellan both agreed that something this complex had to be orchestrated by a major demon. The smaller ones did not have the kind of power over the Fade necessary to pull this off. Dorian wanted to observe a couple more dreams but Lavellan overrode him.  
"Look we have an expert in this. Cole is or was a spirit of Compassion. He surely knows more about what can manipulate the Fade than we do. Let's ask him." 

After querying a few guards Lavellan, Dorian and Iron Bull found Cole on the battlements gazing up at the stars. He looked surprised to be hailed by the three of them but readily agreed to wander over to the Herald's Rest for a talk. Iron Bull had suggested the location. He found understanding Cole to be difficult at the best of times and ever since the sharing of their safeword was wary of his comments. Though he didn't hold it against Cole since the information that his old Tamassaran was happy that he got away had made up for any discomfort he felt. All in all he found conversations with Cole more comfortable around alcohol, especially if they dealt with uncomfortable topics. Once they were settled Dorian, as the one with both the most information about the intricacies of the Fade and firsthand view of what had happened, explained the problem with Bull.  
To their astonishment Cole actually blushed and then turned to Iron Bull. "The Iron Bull, she wanted you to take her clothes off. I wanted that for me. She sings. I like singing. I didn't know how she would like me. You showed me. I wanted to solve your tangles."  
Dorian's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "Wait that sounds like .."  
Lavellan looked at Iron Bull and began to laugh. "Iron Bull the relationship counselor?"  
Iron Bull growled "So the interludes with those lovers were about learning what to say to someone you liked?" Cole nodded.  
Bull sighed "Then the fighting and the flirting with madness was what ..."  
Cole jumped in "The Iron Bull is strong. If he understands..."  
Dorian smiled then amused "Then the fear goes away right. You wanted him to see that strength and not be afraid." Dorian shook his head "Cole you need to stop. For Qunari being in the Fade is not natural. If you want his romantic advice.."  
Bull looked pained "In the future please just ask. To be honest you should have asked my Kadan, he was the one who did the wooing."  
Lavellan laughed harder "What you don't think 'Want to ride the Bull' is romantic?"  
Dorian ignored Lavellan's comments "While I'm sure Bull appreciates your attempts to help him." Iron Bull swallowed a snort at that and Dorian continued "Don't drag Iron Bull or anyone into the Fade without asking them first and getting their agreement." Cole looked at Iron Bull and then gulped and just nodded.  
Dorian looked at Bull and sighed "Tell me you were not thinking about how to kill him."  
Iron Bull just looked blandly at him "I think about how to kill everyone, well except my Kadan"  
Lavellan grinned across at Iron Bull "Well except for the little death" Iron Bull froze at that then suddenly picked up Lavellan and started striding off.  
Between jolts the elf gasped out "Varric was right Cole was the one to watch out for!"  
Dorian did not know whether to be amused or offended by Iron Bull's immediate response "No Cullen was correct it was Dorian."  
Dorian clapped Cole on the back "Let's go get a few more drinks and you can tell me all about this girl who sings."


End file.
